So apparently dead satellites blithely falling from the sky is a thing now. After last week's UARS debacle, the now-defunct German Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT) is scheduled to crash to Earth in late October or early November.
The ROSAT was originally an X-Ray observatory developed by Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom and launched in 1990. Its design life was 18 months, but it functioned fully through 1994, and was only shut down for good in 1999. And now it's coming to kill us all.
For its part, the German Aerospace Agency promises to provide frequent updates, similar to NASA during the UARS scare. Though apparently the ROSAT's orbit means it could land anywhere from Canada to South America, which sounds totally reasonable and not at all incredibly horrifying. And the odds of its debris crushing a human being are a less optimistic 1-in-2000, compared to UARS's 1-in-3200.
The danger period is still a pretty wide window, so you certainly have time to get your affairs in order before you're crushed to death but a 2.4-ton molten German satellite. But do begin praying to whatever deity or Sector 7 flower girl you go to for salvation from giant falling space objects. [Smart Planet, NASA]
Image Credit: German Aerospace Center
Related StoriesView the original article here
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
There's such a long list of awesome things about smoking weed that I'm starting to lose track of all the benefits. One thing I'm pretty sure I never heard of before though: marijuana might be able to cure post-traumatic stress disorder.
Can't find a parking space in San Francisco these days? Don't plan overpopulation, blame these mobile dumpster parks that have started sprouting up around the city.
One of the cornerstones of Amazon's business has been avoiding sales taxes; because their transactions are online, you don't have to pay Uncle Sam with every purchase. And now, thanks to some maneuvering around a proposed California law, you'll remain off the hook for another year.
Someone could cobble together a solid DIY iPhone 5 kit with all the purported next-gen parts that've leaked. The latest? A front panel part labeled N94, like previous supposed prototype parts. It looks just like the iPhone 4.
That hunk of metal to the right is the world's most accurate clock, say people with more knowledge of time and atomic clocks than anyone else.